Government websites go dark after AI-discovered flaw sparks security scramble
Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after the disclosure of critical vulnerabilities in a widely used programming language sent website operators around the world scrambling to protect their systems.
Critical vulnerabilities in the widely used PHP programming language led to multiple government websites going offline on Wednesday. AI-powered tools helped uncover the flaws, which had been hidden for over a decade. With AI making it easier to exploit the bugs, experts fear a wave of intrusions will follow as hackers attempt to capitalize on the situation.
PHP powers the majority of the public-facing web, including WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento sites. Cybersecurity agencies worldwide have urged PHP users to update immediately or go offline until patches are applied. Notable victims include the Dutch government, Wikipedia, the Internet Archive, and Amazon, which detected an attempted exploit four days before the flaw was disclosed.
Smaller PHP-powered websites, often run by individuals or organizations with limited resources, are particularly at risk.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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